Emergency Preparedness

November 16, 2011

Emergency situations can be a perpetual fear for many of us wheelchair users, not just for our personal safety, but also for the safety of our chairs. For many of us, the wheelchair is much more than simply a mobility device. It is also an expensive piece of equipment and an invaluable component in our lives. So when our chairs are in trouble – we are in trouble!

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine visited to see the sights in D.C. As we toured, I noticed that my wheelchair battery was draining mysteriously quickly. Towards the evening I grew worried that my chair wouldn’t survive, so I decided to call a local accessible taxi service. The taxi coordinator informed me that she could not locate an accessible cab. I tried another accessible taxi company with no better luck. After crawling along in a near panic towards my apartment building, I managed to approach it close enough to see the building, but unfortunately, my time was up. The battery was completely dead, and there we were, stranded on a street corner in the middle of evening traffic. My friend didn’t have the physical strength, and nor would I have obligated her, to manually force my heavy chair up the 2-3 block final stretch towards home. So, what are we taught to do in emergency situations such as these? At my wit’s end, I hailed a police car. I presented my predicament to the officer: “My chair is not operating. I need to reach home before it becomes too dark, there are no accessible vehicles available, and I can’t transfer out of my chair to leave it behind. Are there any emergency vehicles that are wheelchair accessible?”

Perplexed, the officer replied, “Do you want me to shut down the traffic so that you could cross?”

Maybe she misunderstood. “No, my chair is completely out of power, I cannot move.”

“Can’t your friend push you?”

“She physically can’t, and I won’t put her in danger. She is not responsible for me.”

“Should I call an ambulance?”

“But I am not injured!”

“Don’t you have a phone number or something, for an accessible vehicle?”

By this time, my friend and I realized that there was no help for me. Not even from a police officer, whose duty it is to protect and problem-solve. We devised our own plan. She ran to my apartment, returned with my battery charger, and we begged the security personnel in a nearby apartment lobby to allow me to use their electrical outlets to charge the battery. The police officer, on the other hand, didn’t even offer to step out of her car. What was I to conclude? That there must not be a standard protocol for situations in which wheelchair-users are stranded, and if there are, then at least one police officer did not receive the memo!

This personal story is not intended to be an idle complaint. Rather, it’s an example of the type of nightmare that wheelchair users wish to avoid, and of a system of policing that simply isn’t working for individuals with disabilities. If the vehicle of an individual without a physical disability broke down, she could call a tow company and a cab (which are almost always readily available). But what this experience has taught me is that if a wheelchair user is in need of quick transportation due to a device malfunction, we’re on our own.

Because law enforcement agencies are part of local and state governments, they are subject to Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in government services. This applies to every level of service, from enforcing laws and arresting individuals, to receiving complaints and providing medical services. However, as with older buildings and structures, Title II does not require all police stations to be accessible to persons with disabilities. Law enforcement agencies are not required to make alterations or accommodations that would require undue financial burden, as long as other possibilities exist that will provide access to the same programs and services. In this case, if police vehicles with modifications for wheelchair access are not available, the police are required to utilize community resources such as accessible cab companies.

The issue, in my particular case, was that the police officer did not have the adequate skills, knowledge, or training to advise me on better solutions. Not only that, it also seemed that there were no wheelchair accessible police vehicles. As much as it is my responsibility to ensure my own safety, I should have the peace of mind that if I exhausted my own options, my last resort – the police – can provide resources and assistance that I could not provide for myself. Hiring in the Spirit of Service, a research project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, assessed some of the nontraditional skills necessary for police officers today, emphasizing problem-solving and a broad community focus. The project underlines the ability to show initiative, be resourceful, use good judgment, take responsibility, and possess the capacity for empathy and compassion as essential core competencies for law enforcement officials. These traits are necessary for the general population, but especially so for the disability community, for which creativity and initiative are required by law enforcement in the absence of fully accessible buildings and vehicles.

October 28, 2011

On Wednesday November 9, 2011, at 2 PM EST, the FCC will be conducting the first ever nation-wide test of the Emergency Alert System or EAS. TV viewers -- and radio listeners -- are advised to take no action as it is only a test of the Emergency Alert System. At that time, an announcement will come on every TV and radio channel indicating that the emergency alert system has been activated. Audiences are advised to not be alarmed when they see or hear the message, which will be about 3 minutes long.

The purpose of the test is to assess how well the EAS can alert the public during certain national emergencies. Although the FCC and FEMA are taking steps to ensure that everyone has access to announcements made during the test, some people watching cable television (as well as some others) may receive only an audio (not a visual) notice that this is a test. The FCC and FEMA want to make consumers aware of the test so that they understand that this is only a test and that there is no real emergency. This test of the EAS is a little different than what's happened before. Such tests usually include an audio EAS tone and a message indicating that “This is a test of the Emergency Alerting System.” Not only will the Nov 9 test be a little longer--about 3 minutes, but, due to technical limitations, a visual message indicating that “this is a test” may not appear on every television channel, especially for cable TV subscribers. For these reasons, the FCC and FEMA are taking extra steps to educate the public, especially people with hearing disabilities, that this is only a test.

What is the EAS? EAS alerts are sent over the radio or television (broadcast TV and radio, cable and satellite). State and local emergency managers use these alerts to notify the public about emergencies and weather events, such as tornadoes and hurricanes. The EAS can also be used to send an alert across the United States if there is a national emergency. It is common for state and local EAS tests to occur on a monthly and weekly basis, respectively, but there has never been a test of the nationwide EAS alert on all broadcast, cable and satellite radio and television systems at the same time. The November 9th test will help ensure that the EAS will work if public safety officials ever need to send an alert or warning to the entire country or to a large region of the United States.

...On a February afternoon in 2007, Jonathan, a skinny, autistic 13-year-old, was asphyxiated, slowly crushed to death in the back seat of a van by a state employee who had worked nearly 200 hours without a day off over 15 days. The employee, a ninth-grade dropout with a criminal conviction for selling marijuana, had been on duty during at least one previous episode of alleged abuse involving Jonathan...

In the front seat of the van, the driver, another state worker at Oswald D. Heck Developmental Center, watched through the rear-view mirror but said little. He had been fired from four different private providers of services to the developmentally disabled before the state hired him to care for the same vulnerable population.

O. D. Heck is one of nine large institutions in New York that house the developmentally disabled, those with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and other conditions.

These institutions spend two and a half times as much money, per resident, as the thousands of smaller group homes that care for far more of the 135,000 developmentally disabled New Yorkers receiving services.

But the institutions are hardly a model: Those who run them have tolerated physical and psychological abuse, knowingly hired unqualified workers, ignored complaints by whistle-blowers and failed to credibly investigate cases of abuse and neglect, according to a review by The New York Times of thousands of state records and court documents, along with interviews of current and former employees...

How can recorded accounts of these institutions' mistreatment of residents and irresponsible management of funding be used to advocate for quality living situations for people with developmental disabilities? Please share your thoughts in comments below.

May 19, 2011

The Miami Herald found that special homes for people with mental illness are often shoddily run, with residents left without critical psychiatric and medical help.

By Carol Marbin Miller, Rob Barry and Michael Sallah

For the residents of Hillandale, punishment was swift and painful: violent takedowns, powerful tranquilizers that made them stumble and drool, and staffers who would scream and tackle them when they misbehaved.

Last April, the staff protested the removal of a 47-year-old man — frail and mentally retarded — who said he wanted to move, while residents shouted and blocked the path of state workers trying to safely escort him from the home.

While most assisted-living facilities (ALFs) are designed to care for the elderly — providing help with everyday tasks — Florida licenses facilities like Hillandale to also care for people with severe mental illness. Created a generation ago, the special homes were the state’s answer to providing housing for thousands left in the streets after the historic closings of Florida’s psychiatric institutions.

But The Miami Herald found dozens of the homes are so poorly run that residents are forced to languish without crucial needs — including medication and psychiatric help — leaving their care to police and rescue workers.

The Herald’s examination of Florida’s 1,083 homes for people with mental illness, including a review of state inspection reports, police investigations, court records and interviews with mental health experts, found:

• Regulators find nearly twice the rate of abuse and neglect at the special homes, including caretakers beating and sexually molesting residents.

• State agents have caught nearly 100 homes using illegal restraints since 2002 — including doping residents with tranquilizers without doctor’s approval, tying them with ropes and locking them in isolation rooms — only to catch them doing it again.

• Florida’s requirements to run a home for people with mental illnesses are among the lowest in the nation: a high school diploma and 26 hours of training — less than the state requirements for barbers, cosmetologists and auctioneers.

• Caretakers are routinely caught intoxicated, asleep and even abandoning their posts entirely — often with severe consequences to residents, but rarely to the operators.

April 18, 2011

On April 14, in Oakland California, Chairman Genachowski announced that the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") is co-sponsoring a nationwide contest to develop software applications ("apps") that get personalized, actionable information to people least likely to take advantage of the digital revolution. We wanted to reach out to you to let you know of this new FCC initiative. Attached is a news release and Chairman Genachowski's prepared remarks. We hope you will be able to share this with your network to get out the word about this contest.

KNIGHT FOUNDATION AND FCC ANNOUNCE NEW APPS CONTEST TO BRING LOCAL INFORMATION TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES

Washington, D.C. - In a new, nationwide contest announced today, communities and software developers will compete to develop software applications ("apps") that get personalized, actionable information to people least likely to take advantage of the digital revolution.

The Apps for Communities Challenge is part of the FCC and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's efforts to foster digital inclusion and promote broadband adoption. Details are posted at Appsforcommunities.challenge.gov.

Surrounded by Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco and Mayor Chuck Reed of San Jose, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the contest. "This challenge uses the power of broadband and the ingenuity of creative thinkers across America to help advance our country's broadband agenda," said Chairman Genachowski. "I expect we'll see great new apps that use public data to help people all over the country seize the broadband revolution and improve their access to jobs, health care and educational opportunities."

"In the digital age, access to the Internet is fundamental to democracy. To the extent that a large portion of Americans have no broadband access, they can't fully participate in this society and they also can't become part of the demand that will drive further innovation. We are proud to partner with the FCC in an effort to increase access to the Internet for all Americans and to entice them to actively use that access," said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation. He added, "Contests can promote innovation in all sorts of unexpected ways. This particular challenge is designed to encourage and reward people for solving local problems through technology. 'Tech-for-engagement' is in its infancy but holds huge promise."

The Apps for Communities Challenge seeks to take advantage of the local, public information coming online - on topics from education to health care, child care, government services and jobs - and make it easily accessible to the public. Contestants will be asked to turn that information into content, apps and services that expand people's choices on critical issues. These apps could, for example, give people valuable information about their communities in an easily digestible graphic on their mobile devices; help seniors, immigrants, and others use tools such as Skype to communicate; allow consumers to choose a health care provider; or deliver contract and seasonal job post alerts in English and Spanish via text message.

Knight Foundation is offering $100,000 dollars in prizes, with additional prizes awarded to the best apps that reach and engage traditionally underserved communities-people with disabilities, seniors, and those whose first language is not English.

2. “Advanced communications.” FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on advanced communications services and products to be accessible by people with disabilities. Advanced communications services are defined as (1) interconnected voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service; (2) non-interconnected VoIP service; (3) electronic messaging service; and (4) interoperable video conferencing service. This includes, for example, text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, and video communications. The NPRM also addresses web browser accessibility for people who are blind or visually impaired on their mobile phones, and other topics. Comments due Mar 14, 2011 and reply comments due April 13, 2011. Below are the URLS for this NPRM in Word, PDF and text format:

3. NEXT GEN 911: FCC Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) requests people with disabilities to take a national on-line survey by April 24, to determine the most effective and efficient technologies and methods by which persons with disabilities may access Next Generation 9-1-1 emergency services systems. This is the technology used at 911 Public Service Answering Points (PSAPs). Among other things, the survey asks about accessing 911 services via video, text, and voice. Survey results will be used by the EAAC to develop recommendations for FCC draft rules to ensure that people with disabilities can access NG 9-1-1 services. Survey available in English, Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL) video. Link to the survey in English and ASL is at http://fcc.eaac.sgizmo.com/s3 Link to the survey in Spanish athttp://fcc.eaac-es.sgizmo.com/s3

Action steps:

Advocates are encouraged to comment into the FCC dockets in these rulemakings to ensure strong final rules. Instructions for filing comments are inside the NPRMs. The website for filing Comments electronically at the FCC is at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload/display?z=dmkia If you have difficulty filing comments electronically, the FCC has a helpline at 202-418-0193 or via email to ecfshelp@fcc.gov

Please circulate information about these rulemakings and encourage others to comment.

March 24, 2011

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched an online national survey (also in Spanish) of individuals with disabilities to determine the most effective and efficient technologies and ways to access emergency services. The survey asks questions to help figure out the best ways for Americans with disabilities to call and get help from 9-1-1 services. Comment deadline is April 24, 2011.

March 21, 2011

From the Relief Headquarters for Persons with Disabilities of Tohoku-Kanto Great Earthquake:

Dear Friends,

To support persons with disabilities affected by the Tohoku-Kanto Great Earthquake on 11 March, DPI-Japan, JIL, Yumekaze Foundation and other Disability Organizations established "Relief Headquarters for Persons with Disabilities of Tohoku-Kanto Great Earthquake".

Currently, this blog is providing updates from the "Relief Headquarters for Persons with Disabilities of Tohoku-Kanto Great Earthquake". This HQ is organized by persons with disabilities to support persons with disabilities affected by the great earthquake.

It will be updated continuously with fresh information thanks to the support of Taisuke of DPI Asia-Pacific office.

On behalf of my colleagues, I sincerely appreciate messages of concern and sympathy from all over the world.

On March 11, massive earthquake hit east-northern part of Japan. The earthquake recorded unhistorical scale - Magnitude 9.0 - and caused tens of thousands of causalities. Hundreds of persons with disabilities are highly suffered from this disaster.

DPOs in Japan immediately set up an emergent disaster relief headquarters at Japan Council on Independent Living Centers (JIL) and appointed me as director. The headquarters started operation on March 15 in collaborations with DPI-Japan and various groups of persons with disabilities of all over Japan.

In disaster plagued areas, serious shortage of fuel and electricity is a big problem. Personal assistants cannot reach to users' home. Respirator users have difficulty in obtaining electric power. Even if they have generators, it is difficult to use portable generator due to lack of fuel. Shortage of food is also serious...

Yukiko Nakanishi and Shoji Nakanishi, DirectorRelief Headquarters for Persons with Disabilities of Tohoku-Kanto Great Earthquake

From the TakeAway (3.21.11):

Japan Relief: Helping the Most VulnerableJohn Hockenberry's story interviewing Shoji and Yukiko Nakanishi

The tsunami came too quickly. Japan's coastal towns had only a 30-minute warning, which was barely enough time to escape the wave, and for many disabled citizens, not enough time at all. The disabled are among the most vulnerable victims of the recent destruction in Japan. Yukiko and Shoji Nakanishi are members of a Japanese relief organization that is working tirelessly to provide shelter and evacuation support to northern Japan's disabled populations.

Whenever I case a new location, look at friends' vacation photos, or watch travelogues, I wonder about wheelchair accessibility. I wondered the same thing on Friday afternoon, watching disaster coverage on TV with my eleven-year-old daughter in Japan.

An hour earlier, when I went to pick her and her wheelchair up from school – the school for the deaf, which is housed in an aging four-story building with no elevator – her principal rushed out to my car to tell me to hurry home. He told me that a tsunami warning had been issued for Tokushima Prefecture...

February 25, 2011

Emergency Issues: FEMA Continues Efforts to Include People with Disabilities

On Friday February 4, 2011, AAPD's Jenifer Simpson attended a briefing and update by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) on the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The meeting, lead by IPAWS Deputy Director Antwane Johnson, and hosted by Marcie Roth, FEMA’s Disability Coordinator, focused on ways the IPAWS program is accessible and usable for people with disabilities. They also talked about how to spread the word about the new approach to national emergency alerts. The meeting included representatives from the U.S. Access Board, National Disability Rights Network, National Council on Independent Living, in addition to many federal agency representatives.

IPAWS is the next generation of the Emergency Alert System that most of us know via radio and TV announcements when they say “this is a test of the emergency alert system.” IPAWS, however, will integrate these TV and radio announcements with messages on cell phones, through Internet services, via weather alert and local systems such as AMBER, electronic road signage and “reverse 911” systems. The aim is to be able to send “one message over more devices to more people for maximum safety” using different technologies. IPAWS will also take in messages from alerting authorities, like local, state, and tribal governments, to authenticate and validate them, and then to properly disseminate them.

Attendees heard about the need for interoperability to ensure that one message can go out beyond traditional TV and radio. To address this, FEMA formally adopted, in September 2010, the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) as a technical specification to carry such a single message. Disability advocacy groups, such as AAPD and the organizations in the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), had previously recommended use of CAP for such purposes and are happy to see that FEMA requires this for the product vendors and services providers that will connect together as part of IPAWS.

Advocates learned that the next stage in development of the IPAWS system is a test of how well the cell phone networks will connect for such messaging, with a test scheduled in late February 2011. Then there will a major test of the nation-wide national emergency alert system (EAS) in late September 2011. In both tests, advocates would like to hear reports afterwards on how the needs of people with disabilities were addressed. Full implementation of IPAWS is not expected until late in 2012 and even then it may not be complete as a significant effort still is needed to ensure all the devices, services and applications do in fact interoperate with each other to pass along any national emergency information. Of even more critical importance will be the need for advocacy to ensure that the devices that receive such messaging can in fact display them in the formats that we can use.

Disability advocates at the meeting provided resources on how to better provide people with disabilities the emergency information they need. Additionally, advocates recommended that FEMA and IPAWS work to produce some consumer-friendly materials about the effort and to develop a general public outreach campaign.

Stay mindful of local news about efforts that may involve testing of IPAWS and related activities by Emergency Managers and state governors. Ask how the needs of people with disabilities will be included.

Contact your federal FEMA regional office to see if they have any materials or information they can share with you and others about the transformation of the nation’s emergency alerting systems to IPAWS. FEMA Regional contact information is at http://www.fema.gov/about/regions/index.shtm

Ask your device manufacturer (cell phone, Iphone, tablet, pod, phone, TV, radio) what they are doing to ensure accessibility of their device so you will receive the emergency information that will become disseminated through the device once IPAWS is established.

January 24, 2011

Grant Opportunity: Fire Prevention and Safety for People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf/Blind

With inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster planning and emergency preparedness becoming more important to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), all of us continue to work hard at meeting the needs of people with disabilities to find innovative ways to deliver important information and services. CEPIN, the Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network -- and which AAPD has partnered with -- delivers accessible emergency preparedness training to the emergency responder and consumer communities.

CEPIN has a new program, “Fire Prevention and Safety for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf/Blind” to help organizations apply to the FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety Grant program. CEPIN would like your organization to learn more about accessible smoke detector distribution programs with fire safety guidance directed specifically to the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf/blind communities and to learn more about participation in this grant program. For more information, please visit CEPIN website before February 4th, 2011, at http://www.cepintdi.org/firegrant2010

Frankie Mastrangelo is the moderator for both the Justice For All (JFA) national email listerv as well as for the JFActivist blog. She is also an organizer for the American Association of People with Disabilities in Washington, D.C.